


Muttations

by lillyleafeon123



Series: Muttations [1]
Category: Muttations - Fandom
Genre: Animals, Fantasy, Human Experimentation, Other, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2018-08-08 21:06:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7773394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillyleafeon123/pseuds/lillyleafeon123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dragons. Unicorns. Griffins. These legendary animals were considered by everyone to be majestic, breathtaking, glorious.<br/>To be a unique combination of creatures was revered and worshiped as a miracle of life alone.</p><p>Several thousand years later, that changed. When humans began to tamper with life itself, they created new creatures. Wings, fangs, spikes, claws, beaks. Thousands of animals soon became nothing more than experiments, to be controlled by man as they pleased.<br/> <br/>The phrase coined, transgressional modification, simplified into a new term for these beasts; they became known as muttations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning of   the End

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Things are pretty slow the first few chapters, but it picks up and gets quite interesting (at least, I think so!)
> 
> I am extremely slow at updating, so have fun with that. :)

She could only remember fragments of her childhood. Nothing made sense. A blank night sky, devoid of stars. Several empty alleyways, grimy and frightening. A green eyed stare, bitterly lifeless. 

The clearest memory was of her standing in a brittle forest, a faint icy wind stroking her fur. She had been watching the sky, clouded and dreary, as flecks of snow began to float down from the heavens. The snow had settled so gently onto her tiny snout, melting on her even tinier nose, and she remembered thinking she'd never feel any warmth ever again.

That night had never meant anything to her, for it seemed like a weary night of travel. She knew better now. 

How odd, she thought mildly, for her to be surrounded by snow the day she truly began, and now, the day she ended.


	2. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh plooottttt!!!

The forest had always been her home; the branches would quietly swing in the gentle wind of the fall, the streams trickled slowly in the freezing winter, flowers came to life in hoards throughout the spring, and the leaves gave her cool shade from the intense glare of the sun in summer. She had never known any other life besides here, sheltered by the protection of the forest. Sometimes she would fall asleep in her den during the warmth of the noon, dreaming of the world that lay beyond, of what awaited her under the same blue sky. But they always were just dreams, for her mother had instilled only one lesson in her for as long as she could remember; evil awaited outside their sanctity, and would swoop down to eat them alive should they ever dare to leave. She found it hard to believe some days, that in a world so quiet and tranquil, surrounded by ancient trees and spirits, that there could ever be anything so dark.

Her mother wasn’t so optimistic. Coraline had seen the calamity hiding at the very core of the Earth, and always refused to answer the questions her daughter had about the world. When she was younger, endless questions meant being ignored for hours, then angered swats striking her head when her mother finally lost her patience. As she got older, her questions eventually faded away, as they were not worth the blows that each was accompanied with. Every harsh touch would leave her wondering about what her mother had experienced; what was it that had made her so serious, so devoid of warmth? At some point in her youth, she had finally accepted her mother’s hatred of the outside world to be kindred with her feelings toward her daughter. She began to gladly welcome even her mother’s glances of disinterest; at least those weren’t tainted with disgust or anger. On the rare cloudless nights, when the half moon illuminated Cora’s blank face in slumber, she would lay next to her, wondering.

_Do you hate me because I remind you of what’s out there?_

 

On days that it seemed her mother couldn’t stand her for a minute longer, she would dump her at the base of the rocky hills that served as the boundary between the forest and the outside world. Her tiny paws would scrabble up the boulders and she’d climb until she reached a large cavern that extended into the heart of the hill. It was there that a giant black panther lived, a heavily scarred creature with yellow eyes, said to be the most terrifying animal in the region. Every time she came, he would be quietly sitting at the entrance of the cave, as if he knew she was coming to visit. Every time, as she scrambled up the last boulders, his golden eyes would soften, and he would greet her with a smile that dazzled her eyes. He was the only one who ever smiled at her, and it was no wonder that she adored him. He would play with her when she was antsy, showed her how to use the plants that dotted the forest, even taught her to use her wings as best as he could. He had battled with evil itself; the deep scars running over his body were their own testament of that fight, yet kindness emanated from the deepest part of his soul. She referred to him affectionately as her Uncle Pyro, and it was here with him that she learned what the love of a parent felt like.

She lived between the boundaries of cruelty and kindness all her life, and figured that it would always be that way. She would wake up, and spend most of the day hunting meals with the skills that her Uncle had passed on. When she had gathered enough prey for her and Coraline, she would take it back to their den before heading off into the forest. Some days she spent her time with Pyro, contently dozing as he gave medical attention to the other creatures that shared the forest with them. Other days, she would frolic, becoming familiar with each aspect of her little universe, from the tiniest meadows to the biggest oak trees. Then at sundown, she would return to the den to have dinner with Cora, and if she had managed to snag a plump rabbit, she would be graced with the sight of bright green eyes radiating satisfaction. The cycle would change ever so slightly in fall, because that was when the forest was at its most vulnerable.

Deer were a constant sight here in the forest; they were tall, lanky creatures that usually kept to themselves. On occasions that she ran into one while hunting, the deer would gaze at her for a minute, never saying a word. They would then bow their heads, as if to graze, before rising and continuing on with their day. She didn’t understand the gesture, but had always felt that it wasn’t supposed to be insulting. She made it a point to stay on good terms with the deer, and never attempted to bring one down. Deer in the forest had enough to fear in the fall, when they came to hunt. Fall meant danger, and the rules to keep safe during that time were embedded in her mind. One was to always keep to the thickest parts of the forest or by Uncle Pyro’s cave, stay away from the large streams, and avoid the wide meadows at all costs.

It was in the dead of fall when she first saw them. A long day of hunting had proved to be fruitless, as the prey of the forest preparing for the inevitable arrival of winter had put them all in high alert. She found herself having to hunt much closer to the border of the forest, much farther from the boundaries. The crunch of leaves under her paws soon faded away to her regular silent steps after crossing the main stream, and the sharp scent of rabbit soon filled the air. Crouching down, she stalked forward against the brisk wind, through the tall grass, until the edge of the forest came into sight. There, the thin rabbit was devouring patches of dandelions, completely oblivious to its surroundings. Her paws slowly brought her forward, closer and closer to the end of the grass. She came to a stop barely a few feet from the occupied rabbit, and was ready to leap when it’s long ears suddenly flicked up. The creature looked up sharply, towards the other side of the meadow, and sniffed the air twice. After a tense second, it made a sharp twirl towards the forest, and raced straight into her waiting jaws. She was quick to snap it’s neck, then stood to shake out her pelt. 

Her happiness was short lived when another scent wafted in on the breeze. It was an unfamiliar smell, but it suddenly set off a wave of panic. She took a wild look around the meadow, and immediately stiffened when she spotted it. Far across the field stood a strange tall creature, pale and pink, clearly staring right back at her. For a few moments, the two simply gazed at one another, clearly attempting to understand what it was they were seeing. Then it began to move. A thin limb rose, bringing up a thin stick to the upper part of the body, pointed towards her. Then it stood still, barely swaying in the breeze, leaving her thoroughly unsettled. She began to take a few slow steps backwards into the forest when a deafening sound ripped through the meadow. The birds began to flee in a sudden storm, the gentle breeze swirled into a violent frenzy, and a bitter scent began to radiate from the tree closest to her head. Her body reacted before she could fully comprehend what had just happened, and pelted away back into the forest. 

The body of the rabbit shook wildly as she ran, repeatedly striking the side of her face. It made seeing the path ahead of her extremely difficult, to the point where she was running blind. But there was no time to slow down; she could hear multiple voices behind her, clearly in hot pursuit. So she sped up, desperate to lose the creatures hunting her down. She raced into the creek, making a loud splash as she ran, leapt over a fallen tree, and sprinted toward the deepest part of the forest. She was almost in the clear, could almost taste freedom when something clamped viciously around her hind leg. She was yanked back, releasing the rabbit in the process, and hit the ground painfully. In a flurry of panic, she tried to rise and dart away, only to feel a bolt of sharp pain rip across her leg. Her leg had been caught in a deer trap, the kind that appeared to be a metal mouth, with teeth buried so deeply in the flesh that there was no hope of escape. Her desperate pulling only made the trap sink in even deeper, blood beginning to trickle down in a steady flow. She couldn’t hear the voices anymore, only the harsh pant of her own breath. It just couldn’t be manipulated for her to get away alone; it would take someone else to pry the trap open in order for her to pull her leg out. The waning light of the sun only furthered her terror; by nightfall, no one would be in her sector of the forest, as it was still too close to the meadow to be considered safe. There was only one way to escape. 

She began to cry out, loud wails she knew would be audible to the entire forest. The only chance she had was either with Pyro or Cora, and if they could get to her before the other creatures did. When she was met with silence, her cries got louder and louder. They were cut off abruptly when she picked up on the sound of voices yet again, but this time, there were far more echoing through the trees. Fear shot through her, hair rising as her panic began to consume all rational thought. She grabbed the chain holding the trap in place and began to bite down as hard she could. White teeth scraped horribly against the steel, only worsening the pain in her leg with every tug. The voices were getting closer and closer, making every minute suffocating as she lay defenseless. Suddenly, the sound of rapidly approaching footfalls came to a stop as Cora leapt out of the thicket. She was swarmed with relief, her frantic attempt to explain cut off by her mother’s angry snarl. Cora sniffed at the trap, and quickly began to dig at the base of the chain, dirt flying in every direction. 

It began to dawn on the two of them that it was useless; the spike was buried too deeply in the ground to be dug out, and the voices were getting frighteningly close. Cora gazed into the forest, eyes wild with hysteria, and a cold realization hit her. “Mother.. please don’t leave me here,” she whispered. Cora locked eyes with her, icy green meeting light blue. The voices, now accompanied by footfalls and the smell of brittle metal, were just so close. Her mother took a final look towards the source of the noise, and turned back to the gleaming deer trap. Before her sight, Cora’s green eyes began to glow, melting away until the color was a bright silver. She bared her teeth, razor sharp weapons, and grabbed hold of the clamp that was buried in her leg. There was a horrible screeching, and the metal lifted out of her leg, leaving bloody, brutal wounds in its wake. She leapt to her feet, and began to run into the thicket as fast as she could, Cora on her heels.

The pair fled until they reached the other side of the forest, almost at the base of the hills that would lead to Pyro’s cave. Cora halted, chest heaving as she struggled to breathe. She stopped next to her, and took a look at her leg. The wounds had not stopped bleeding, and the punctures had left her leg in a state of total shock. She turned back to Cora, only to be met with teeth as they tore into her scruff. She yelped, leaping back as her mother howled. “Do you know what you’ve _done_?! The humans _know_! They _know_ a muttation is hiding in this forest, and they’ll come! They saw us, and they won’t stop hunting us down _until we’re dead_. “ She cowered as Cora began to pace, enraged to the point that she almost appeared rabid. She suddenly came to a standstill, the tense atmosphere becoming terrifying in the silence. Cora turned back to face her, eyes blazing. “I won’t do this anymore, you _disgusting, vile_ _**creature**_! I don’t care if you get caught and skinned, you _won’t take me with you_! Get out, _get out_ , _**get out**_!” She screeched, leaping forward to give her another vicious bite. She barely dodged in time, and raced towards the hill as fast as she could while the sound of snarls echoed behind her.

Pyro was sitting at the entrance of his den when he caught the scent of fresh blood. He blinked in surprise as she dragged herself up the last pair of boulders, and leapt over to her side. “These are fresh..and deep.” His sunset eyes widened as they met her defeated blue ones. “I heard a gunshot earlier, Angel. What happened?” She just shook her head, and he took that as a cue for later. He immediately got to work on her leg, taking care of cover each puncture with herbs that would help in her recovery. The entire time, silence filled the air, and it was only when he was done did she speak up, saying,” Uncle Pyro….what am I?”


End file.
